Heavens & Hell Inc
by Broknwings
Summary: Heavens and Hell Inc. Can I help you? (Alt. Universe)
1. Homework

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is property of Gainax/TV Tokyo and Mr. Anno. Series distributed by ADV Films.   
Notes: This fanfic does NOT intend to mock Catholic religion or any other beliefs.   
If you want to be my pre reader include your e-mail address in your review.   
C&C obviously welcome.   
Shinji will probably be OOC

*Shinji's thoughts*

  
=== change of scene  
  
========================="Heavens & Hell Inc."================  
=========Chapter1:Homework===========  
Katsuragi residence  
2:04 PM  
  
The second and third child were in the living room arguing. As a matter of fact Asuka was the one arguing, textbooks were scattered all over floor and the radio was on:   
  
"She was queen for about an hour  
after that shit got sour  
she took all I ever had  
no sign of guilt  
no feeling of bad, no"   
  
Asuka´s yelling increased until it finally surpassed the radio's volume.  
"Idiot!!! I know what I'm saying, I'm a college graduated after all!!! Ungrateful little boy!! I help you with your homework and you question my intelligence?? "  
  
"I….I only suggested that……."Shinji started to said and stopped when he saw a huge book in her hand.  
  
"Idiot!!!!!!!" She said as she threw the book at him. He never had a chance; the object caught him square in the head knocking him unconscious.  
"Umph!! "She indignantly exclaimed at first, thinking he would get up in a few seconds. When nothing happened she walked up to him and prodded the comatose boy with her foot.  
"Shinji?…….SHINJI? Great!!! Misato´s going to kill me!"  
  
And in the background the song went on:   
"She fucking hates me  
Trust  
She fucking hates me  
I tried too hard  
And she tore my feelings like I had none  
And ripped them away"  
  
============================================================================  
  
Shinji woke up hearing a voice; it appeared to be on the phone and it was eerie familiar:  
"What do you mean? Ok, I understand. Yes, I'll tell them….. Oh! You're awake! How do you feel.?"  
He gathered up the strength to open his eyes, and when he did, he wished he'hadn't done so. An intense bright light blinded him, which didn't help his headache at all; thankfully a second later Misato´s annoyed face hovered over him.   
  
"My head hurts… " He slowly got up and looked around. Even if he was still half blinded he didn't recognize the room. Confused, he blurted out "Misato what is this place?"  
As she opened her mouth to answer him the phone rang.  
  
" Just a second, I'll be right back with you." " Havens and hell incorporated, How can I help you?" She cheerfully said. Shinji took the time to study her appearance. She was wearing a short black skirt and a blouse, nothing out of the ordinary. When she turned around to write something on her desk, he noted with some apprehension that she had black wings on her back…….. and was totally cool about it too.  
  
"They are not taking calls today…..yes, in a business meeting.. Do you want to leave a message? mmuh, uhu, Ok, I'll tell them. Bye." She turned around again to address Shinji, interrupting his silent but equally effective mental breakdown.  
  
"Where were we? Ah! I remember: Introductions. You're Shiji, right? You can call me Misato if you want. You are in……well …"Heavens & hell inc" Here is the card"  
Shinji looked at the card. It read: 'H&H Inc: Your future is in our hands'  
  
"Uh?" was his eloquent response.   
  
She was running out of patience "Let me shine some light into your empty head: first of all you're inside of the most powerful corporation in the universe.   
2º issue: I Look so much like your friend because unless you are dead, which you are not, you can't see the real me, so your subconscious is replacing my image with someone you know. I'm kind of happy with what you gave me. The same happens with the boss, Luc, and everyone else. Basically we're classified material until you're worm food"   
  
"Dead? What do you mean dead? What's going on? "He cried in panic.  
  
"No need to get so worked up. How could I say this tactfully??………I can't.. So I'll just say it. Here is the deal: Our system crashed at the same time you got hit. As a consequence you are stuck here until the system gets back online"  
  
"I … don't understand. What system?"   
  
"Were you born this way or that book totally annihilated your neurons? The system…".she said slowly like speaking to a particularly dense three year old "as in the computer that allow us to watch everything that happens on earth."   
  
"Everything???" He yelled, as a faint blushed appeared on his face  
  
"Don't be such a prude" She said as she ruffled her wings "Almost everyone does it, and despite common belief it's not a sin."  
  
"I don't get it"  
  
"Don't quit your day job kid you're as thick as a rock. To……AHH!! Don't do that Luc!!!!" She chastised someone behind Shinji. When he turned around he found out that 'Kaji'???? Was the reason for her halted speech. No, not Kaji. I'm seeing Kaji but it's not him; Shinji reasoned.  
  
"Luc! Your fiancée called five times in the past 10 minutes. I told her you were on a meeting. Next time tell her the truth "   
  
"Ok, thanks for the cover up darling, it won't happen again."'Misato´s' demeanor indicated that it was not the first time he said that and it wasn't going to be the last.  
  
"Who's the little guy?"  
  
"Shinji"  
  
"And he is here because……… " 'Kaji' took his sunglasses off and stared at her. Shinji noted that 'Misato' was wearing sunglasses as well.  
  
"The system crashed again"  
At his upset expression she replied "don't look at me ! It's the scientists fault"  
  
"When are they going to fixed it?"  
  
"I'll find out, hang on a sec"  
She got her cell phone out of her jacket and dialed more numbers than Shinji could count.  
"Hi, I want to know how long will it take to put everything back together……… Well, maybe if you hadn't done that stupid experiment we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!!……Yes, I'll tell him" She hung up the phone and said to Luc:  
"About half an hour"  
  
"Ok. But if it's not done in 30 minutes you'll feel my wrath. We have a company to run; we can't stop admitting people just because that stupid thing died on us" He said with a frown, and then he changed his expression to talk to Shinji; He did it so fast that the teen wondered if Luc had split personalities "So you are the poor soul that suffers for our mistakes. It's nice to meet you. It's refreshing to see a new face around here"  
  
"Are you calling me old?" the purple haired woman asked him. He ignored her and resumed his conversation with the boy:  
  
"Tell me: what do you think of this place so far?"  
  
"To be honest, I don't know what to make of it, sir"  
  
"Please, call me Luc; everybody does. But if you prefer...... Lucifer will do "  
  
"Uh???"  
  
"Luc! Look what you've done! "   
  
  
============================================================================


	2. From Hell

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is property of Gainax/TV Tokyo and Mr. Anno. Series distributed by ADV Films.   
Notes: This fanfic does NOT intend to mock Catholic religion or any other beliefs.   
If you want to be my pre-reader include your e-mail address in your review.   
C&C obviously welcome.   
Shinji will probably be OOC 

*Shinji's thoughts* 

=== Change of scene  
  
======================="Heavens & Hell Inc."==================  
  
"Please, call me Luc; everybody does. But if you prefer...... Lucifer will do "  
  
"Uh???"  
  
"Luc! Look what you've done! He passed out!"   
  
====Chapter 2: From Hell======  
  
Shinji could still hear everything they were saying, he hadn't fainted; but the ridicule situation took its toll on him and he was exhausted.  
  
"Nah…..He is still conscious. He'll come around; don't worry; besides it was fun."   
  
"You're right, it was kind of fun. But that's not the point!! Are you going to leave him on the floor?"  
  
"Why not? He looks tired, let him rest"  
  
"What are we going to do with him when he recovers?"  
  
"We? He is your responsibility"  
  
"What??? I'm not a babysitter. "  
  
"You're not, but somebody has to take care of the dirty work"  
  
"So that's it??? You're leaving me here after I got all of your messages this morning??? I'm going to tell your girlfriend that today you were playing golf!!!"   
  
"You can't blackmail me! I'm the prince of darkness"  
  
"Don't give me that crap!! I came up with that title! I'm more evil than you and the entire hell put together"  
  
"That's probably true" He mused "but right now you are the only available member of the staff who can do it."  
  
"Really? And what are you going to do for the rest of the day?"  
  
"I have a very important business meeting later this evening. He has to attend as well. Make sure He remembers it, ok? I don't want to repeat last year's fiasco."   
  
"Don't blame it on me!! It was your fault He got late. You are the one who left him in the club without a map"  
  
"You were supposed to pick Him up"  
  
"Yes, but it took me a long time to find Him because He went into the woods. It was your fault"  
  
"No, it wasn't and that's final"  
  
"I can't believe this!! I don't know how many billion years old he is but the guy still acts like he's eight" Shinji heard her mumble.  
  
"I heard that"  
  
"It was meant for you to hear"  
  
"Can we change the subject? …Good…. Are you going to look after Shinji? It's for a short time…. please?"  
  
"No! I want to talk to the old man. Where is He anyway?"  
  
"As far as I know He was trying to find his way back here"  
  
"And you left Him alone? His sense of direction is worse than mine, and that's saying a lot!"  
  
" I didn't bring him with me because he has the amazing speed of a snail. He'll show up… eventually. " He chuckled "So you aren't going to tell my sweetheart about the golf thing are you?"  
  
With a resigned sigh she responded "Fine, I won't"  
  
"And you will drag the kid with you everywhere and won't let him out of your sight"  
  
"Fine, you win"  
  
"Thank you"  
  
Shinji sensed movement and wondered what was happening. Not having the strength to open his eyes was no fun, and left him in the dark in more ways than one.  
"Get off of me; your fiancée was already mad when I answered the phone. I don't want to know what would happen if she sees us now"  
  
"You're right; I'm out of here. Take care of the little fellow, he is a little slow, but has a good heart"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Bye Luc"   
  
For the second time that day Shinji opened his eyes and misato´s face came into view.  
"Great, you're back. You're stuck with me so don't do that again. Did you hit your head? What's the last thing you remember?"  
  
"The devil"  
  
"Luc, yeah. He is mostly harmless, with a twisted sense of humor, but harmless. And for the 'devil' part, that's his commercial name."  
  
"Really?" Shinji said with a face that showed his confusion.  
  
'Misato' sighed for the 20th time that day "I did mention this is a corporation, didn't I?" he nodded and she went on "Well, since you are going to be here for a while I better explain it. Your so-called 'devil' is a label. The dead are placed in either Heaven or Hell according on how they behaved when they were alive. Heaven is first class and Hell is middle class, or something like that. Inside each part there's a group of industries run by others that supply the population with items to make their "afterlife" more comfortable. It's similar to earth. Capitalism, marketing, everything is related. Luc and the old man own it and try to keep it balanced. For example, if "heaven" gets too crowded Luc shows up on earth, annoys some people, they do something stupid and Taddaaaa! They are in hell, consuming inferno products"  
  
*Okay….I think this dream is getting waaay too complicated…..Why the hell couldn't my head come up with something simple?……like a beach or a peaceful green field*. Shinji thought  
  
" I can hear what you're thinking, y´know. Can I give you an advice? Denial=Not healthy. This is not a dream and I'm not a figment of your imagination, so deal with it. Go crazy, weep, I don't care." She sarcastically said and then with a calm face explained, " You want simple facts? Ok. This whole 'Hell' and 'Heaven' affair is like a game. It's fun to see who gets more fans, Luc or Him. But it wasn't always like that. In the beginning they tried chess, but got bored later. Actually, Luc gave up; the old man took forever to make a move, literally. After that, they tried dices, but they weren't very lucky. I came up with the idea of Heaven and Hell. It's a little project of mine." She ended her monologue with an arrogant smirk.  
  
"I see" He had decided to play along with his crazy subconscious, but when he saw her smug face, it reminded him of Asuka and it pissed him off. If he couldn't wipe the overconfident grin out of the real Asuka, he was going to rehearse with Misato´s wannabe. That way, next time, he would be ready to face the redhead "But you are not that important. I mean, no one knows that god has a secretary" He told her with an innocent face.  
  
"I'm not a secretary; I'm a marketing manager!!" She snapped. Shinji started to reconsider the split personality theory; because in a second she was back with her cool expression " My duty is to make sure everything works fine. I run all this, even if It's not mine. The real owners are two irresponsible fools, who, as you already know, are not working today. Also the most critical part of my job consists in getting their asses out of trouble. I don't now how Luc and the old man do it, but I swear they're…." The phone once again interrupted her  
"….always in some kind of trouble" she finished.  
  
"Hello? Where are you? Yes, I'll pick you up. Stop yelling or you'll pop an artery!! Be there in 10 minutes."   
"Alone He's an accident waiting to happen" She said to herself.   
  
"Ok Shinji, you'll be tagging along. We are going to get the boss"  
  
"Who is your boss? God?" He asked with a snort. Maybe annoying his mind wasn't such a bad idea.  
  
"In theory…. yes. But don't call him that, it feeds his ego, and He knows he is full of himself. Ready?"  
  
"Sure" *If God is Asuka I'm out of here* Shinji thought.  
  



	3. Hold on tight, it's going to be a bumpy ...

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is property of Gainax/TV Tokyo and Mr. Anno. Series distributed by ADV Films.   
Notes: This fanfic does NOT intend to mock Catholic religion or any other beliefs.   
If you want to be my pre-reader include your e-mail address in your review.   
C&C obviously welcome.   
Shinji will probably be OOC

*Shinji's thoughts*  
=== Change of scene  
  
======================="Heavens & Hell Inc."==================  
=============Chapter3: Hold on tight, it's going to be a bumpy ride=======  
  
Misato´s wannabe drove as bad as the original, neither had much respect for street signs.  
  
- NO PARKING-  
  
"So.. How do you like living on earth?" She asked Shinji as she started the car.  
  
"It sucks"  
  
"Why? Your life is not THAT bad…….." A folder appeared out of nowhere and she started to read.   
"……If you leave out the part where your mother died,   
your father left you, came back after several years to hire you to do the worst job  
ever Or when you have to share an apartment with two strangers,  
your perpetually PMS roommate mistreats you 24/7, your life is in constant danger and  
you don't have the guts to stand up for yourself."   
Seeing his depressed face she hastily added "It doesn't suck that much. If it makes you feel better, I've seen worse."   
  
"You sure know how to cheer me up. "  
  
"Don't get me wrong; I would like to help you, but we can't interfere in mortal lives unless it's business related.  
To be honest I highly doubt you need help. You seem to possess an inner strength that I have rarely seen."  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
-SHARP CURVE- The other cars tried to stay as far away as possible from 'Misato's car'  
"Yes. You have more things to be grateful for than you realize. Except for that redhead you live with.   
If I didn't know better I'd blame it on Luc. You haven't pissed him off lately, have you?"  
  
"Not that I'm aware of"  
  
"Man, I'm paranoid." Crazy people theory: 1 Shinji´s mental health: 0 "Never mind.   
You have waaay too much patience with this Asuka. What's up with that girl anyway?   
She is constantly bitching about this or that.  
She is such a showoff, especially when she's drooling after your guardian's 'boyfriend'   
or moping the floor with your self-esteem. You've got to teach her a lesson."  
  
"How? I can't. No, no way. Sh…she…she'd kill me"  
  
"Why are you stammering? What are you blushing about? No!! Please don't tell me you like her!!!"   
  
-STOP-  
  
Shinji felt it was his duty to warn 'Misato' about the sign before they crash into the nearest truck.  
The woman, however, didn't look like she had, either, seen the -STOP- sign or was going to slow down anytime soon.   
  
"Aren't you going to………  
  
"……But you at least have friends; they respect you for what you do, even if you hate piloting.   
Speaking of Nerv, you people have the best slogan ever, it really sells "  
  
"..stop"  
  
"…..'If god is in heaven, all is all right with the world' That's how it goes, right?  
I don't remember it… I'm sorry, did you say something?"  
  
"Nothing important"   
  
While his entire life was passing before his eyes, Shinji came up with a plan:   
If he could confuse his mind and make himself go round in circles inside his head, maybe the stupid dream would go away.   
*Ok. It's time to bring in the artillery* "What about the Angels?"  
  
"I can't stop that either because they're the boss's relatives. He told them to stop, but they act like spoiled brats."   
And with a conspiratorial tone she whispered "Between us, I think Adam owes them some money. What can I say?  
They're stubborn."   
She shrugged.  
  
  
The rest of the ride was silent and Shinji used it to ponder about his subconscious which had turned out to be a lot more   
intricated than he gave it credit for.  
A minute later 'Misato' exclaimed with an unsurprised face "Ah! There He is…….. walking in the wrong direction"   
  
"Hey!" She yelled, "Need a ride old man?" Shinji let out a relieved sigh.   
God didn't look like Asuka; he looked like….Fuyutsuki. Maybe the image of Asuka wouldn't have been so bad, he mused.  
The man interrupted him.  
  
"Don't call me that"  
  
"Gee, the older you get, the crankier you are "  
  
"Shut up!"   
  
"Are you going to get in the car or what?? "   
  
"You don't have to say it twice, my feet are killing me" He got into the car and she started the engine.  
  
"Are you aware that you were walking away from the office instead of walking towards it?"  
  
"I was doing it on purpose; I'm not as stupid as you may think. So…. Who's the guy?"  
  
"There was a 'slight' problem with the computers while you were playing golf; I already talk to   
the responsible sector and they promised me it'll be up and running in 20 minutes.  
In the mean time Shinji will be staying with us."  
  
"Uh! Ok… Do you have the admission papers?"  
  
"The ones you had to sign yesterday?????"  
  
"Yes….I forgot. Don't worry; I'll sign them as soon as we get to the office"  
"At this speed we'll get there in no time" he whispered to Shinji.  
  
"I heard that"

================================================================================


	4. Uploding a prayer

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is property of Gainax/TV Tokyo and Mr. Anno. Series distributed by ADV Films.   
Notes: This fanfic does NOT intend to mock Catholic religion or any other beliefs.   
If you want to be my pre-reader include your e-mail address in your review.   
C&C obviously welcome.   
Shinji will probably be OOC

*Shinji's thoughts*  
=== Change of scene

======================================================  
Thanks for the reviews. Author notes (more like an explanation actually) About the cast: I chose kaji as Luc because 1º Gendo would have been too predictable in that role. 2º Luc is not what we'd normally expect from the 'devil'. Luc is more mischievous than evil.  
======================================================

======================Uploading a prayer or God@helleden.com ===================== 

During the ride, Shinji had a pretty accurate idea about "the boss": He was extremely absent-minded and a tad moody; but the latter was probably 'misato's merciless teasing. They were currently engaged in a discussion concerning the man's bald spot which, by the way, was only visible in her mind. An eternity bickering should earn them a place at Tokyo's University: "disagreement over dull topics 505". It sure as hell beat the "Nap 101" class that Asuka was always complaining about from her college days. 

The car came to a stop and they were back at the headquarters. 'Misato' went to fetch the forgotten papers and the boy and "the old man" were alone in the lobby. 

RING RING RING 

"Sir?…. Sir?… Are you going to get that?" Shinji said trying to catch the Man's attention. 

"Get what?" 

"You are ringing. Actually, your cell phone is " 

"Wha….right, cell phone" He patted his clothes trying to find the offensive object. Finally his search came to an end in his jacket's inside pocket. He took the phone and looked at it "Lets see……. Bloody hell!! How do you turn this on? Do you know?" 

"Just press the ON button" 

"..ON button…. ON button…Of all days to forget my glasses….ON button, here. Hello?.. Uhu..the WHAT?…Well, it's not the first time that I'm late for a meeting….Yes, I'll tell her" He turned off the phone and put it back in his pocket. "Thanks for the help. I'm too old to catch up with the new 'toys', but she" he pointed at the direction 'Misato' had gone "makes me carry one the whole time because of the company and all that. Do you have one?" 

"A phone? Yes, Misato gave me one. She said I had to use it in case of an emergency" 

"Who?" 

"Misato…. I….. live with her" *Isn't God supposed to see and know everything?* puzzled expression nº 1203. 

"Gee, no kid! that's a myth; The experts _see___ and _know_ everything. They watch it all trough special cameras; think of it as a….. universal Big Brother. At the end of the shift, they make a synopsis with the most relevant things and attached it to the individual's file in the main computer. Do you imagine what would happen if I had to look at all those monitors at the same time? No way José." 

"If you don't look upon earth constantly, what do you do?" It was a good thing that God looked like Fuyutsuky, even if they didn't act alike. It was easier to talk to him than to talk to a god that looked like Gendo or Asuka _shivers_ 

"Most of the time I answer to prayers. Humans are a very religious kind, always praying. Not that I'm complaining. I get billions of them via e-mail that require my attention. I may not have a very good memory but I can type like a bat out of hell. Most of the time its 'Thanks, I'll keep it in mind' or 'grow up! If you want good grades, study'. But sometimes the request is not shallow or stupid and needs my special intervention. You know what they say ' I work in mysterious ways'" 

"Yeah, I've heard about that" So far Shinji was not impressed with his subconscious's idea of god. 

"I can see that you're not very talkative. You can talk to me; I won't tell anyone. What's troubling you? Does it have to do with girls?" 

Shinji looked doubtful but the man's voice had a soothing quality that made him trustworthy. He added it to God's main features list for future reference: 

1_ Extremely absent-minded. 

2_Irritable. 

3_Hobby: Golf. 

4_Not happy with modern technology. 

5_Deteriorated vision. 

6_Interested in reality shows, as weird as it may seem. 

7_ Doesn't talk often to others, but when he does, he talks a lot. 

8_In urgent need of an anger management class. 

New!!! 9_ soothing voice= trustworthy. 

He sighed and picked out an aspect of his crappy life to talk about. 

" I…..don't like my dad very much; I don't think he likes me either….uhhh.. We have a complicated relationship. For some reason I always try to do the right thing so he can know what a nice person I am, but it doesn't seem to be working. He compliments everyone but me. It's like he's doing it on propose.I'm a little jealous" 

"That's…… too deep for me to analyze now; as you know I'm no Freud, but I'll give it a shot: If your father is a fool, don't pay him attention. Find a role model to look up to, and you'll stop wasting your energy for an ungrateful bastard" 

"You can swear?" 

"Not everything is entirely black or white; like a person is not completely good or bad. I can swear and that doesn't make me less of a God, although it makes me sound a bit unstable. Well….. as long as it doesn't make me sound senile there's nothing to worry about, right?" He said with a laugh. 

The pilot gave him a hesitant smile while contemplating about the man's odd sense of humor. 

'Misato' chose that moment to make an appearance. 

"What took you so long?" 

"I couldn't find them, they were in the wrong pile with the wrong papers. I hate paperwork " 

"That's because your desk is a mess, you need to tidy it up" 

"We'll discuss it later. I need your signature on the first three pages and the last one" 

"Ok, Here are the admission papers signed, now What's this for?" 

"Office supplies." 

"Did you found out what happened to the pencils?" 

"Sort of….Luc stuck them into the ceiling" 

"He is incorrigible!!" 

"Don't be mad at him. After all he's got a reputation to live up to" 

"I almost forgot!! He called me and said we are late for the meeting at the restaurant" 

"Come on, I'll drive" 

*Ok* Shinji thought *Here we go……………….again* 

===============================================================================


	5. Medamn Unions chapter 5a

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is property of Gainax/TV Tokyo and Mr. Anno.   
Notes: This fanfic does NOT intend to mock Catholic religion or any other beliefs.   
C&C obviously welcome.   
Shinji is probably OOC

Shinji's thoughts  
=== Change of scene

---------------------------------Author's note------------------------------

This update took longer than expected, sorry about that. I've been very busy since I last updated and I'm sure I won't have a break till december. If anyone wants to help me write this fic (as a coauthor or giving me ideas for the next chapters) I may be able to update more often. Thanks in advance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

====================== Medamn Unions(chapter 5a) =============================

The ride was as scary as the previous ones with a small difference, this time they were being followed by a police patrol. 'Misato' was having a blast, the old Man still remained indifferent and Shinji wondered if he was going to spend the rest of the evening in jail if there's such a thing here

Finally tired of the noise the Man told her with a hint of exasperation "For crying out loud! Can you pull over? You've had your fun, the stupid siren is giving me a headache"

She complied and the car stopped in the middle of the highway.

A cop who looked suspiciously like Aoba got out of the patrol and walked slowly to their car.

"Miss, do you know how fast were you going?"

"200ish?"

"The speed limit is 100"

"oops! Sorry for the inconvenience officer, I promise I won't do it again" She batted her eyelashes in what it was an obviously desperate attempt to look innocent.

"I'm sorry, but I need to see some ID"

"Sure" Conceding defeat she rummaged through her purse trying to find her ID, when she found it, she gave it to him.

"This license isn't valid"

Shinji and the old Man looked at each other with a mix of surprise and disappointment.

'Misato' instead of looking stunned chose that moment to confidently get out of the car and speak to the cop in private.

They could look at her from one of the mirrors. Worried about their situation Shinji asked the Man

"Are we in trouble?"

"Don't worry, she'll work things out"

"Ok…..If you say so"

Still unsure he kept watching 'Misato'. She talked to the cop, laughed a little and then shook hands with him.

The cop went on his 'merry' way and she went back to the car.

"What happened?" The boy asked.

"I bribed him" she said as she started the car.

"You what???"

"Chill out kid, it's not like it's a felony or something" she said as the car returned once again to the wrong lane.

The old Man didn't look shocked at his employee's misdemeanor, as a matter of fact, he looked like he was used to it.

"I can't believe you got your license revoked. Well, I CAN believe it but you should have bribed the guy that revoked it in the first place"

"I tried, but he was one of those…..what are they called?……..oh! right! moralist. Ugh!"

"Now you're going to have to bribe every cop you find for the rest of eternity"

After many turns, dizziness, "near death" experiences and insults from other drivers, the car came to a stop in front of a classy restaurant. Luc was waiting for them in the lobby with a worried look on his face.

"What took you so long? They're already here, the last thing we need is antagonize them even further"

"Do they still want to go on strike?" the Man asked

"Yup"

"Damn unions"

Shinji tagged along silently.now what?

A waiter accompanied them to their table. "Don't be rude, Take your sunglasses off" The Boss told 'Misato'. When she did Shinji noted that her eyes were blue and its pupil was of a darker shade of blue weird. Luc interrupted his survey. "Well, here we are" He announced and the half dozen of men gathered around the table suddenly stopped talking. Anyone could feel the tension building up.

The Man sat at the head of the table and Luc and 'Misato' sat to his left. Shinji thought it was safer to stay close to 'Misato' just in case things got ugly. The suits also sat facing the representatives of "H&H"

A moment passed in complete silence. Finally, one of the businessman decided to speak up.

"We see that our requests have fallen on deaf ears. I inform you that no matter what happens we are NOT giving up"

"We understand the situation but we won't approve the fusion, I though we were clear enough in our last meeting. We've gone through this: We'd be accused of allowing a monopoly and we'd be in more trouble than we already are. THAT is not good for any of the involved parties. The answer is still no"

Luc had decided to be the spokesperson of 'heavens&hell Inc' and he was doing one -hell- of a job!

"This is not negotiable. If you don't give us permission we have no other choice but to go on strike"

Oops! or maybe not.

"Don't you dare to threat me" For the first time in twenty minutes, the Man spoke.

Aaaand there was the sign of impending doom that Shinji was looking for. He could see a storm gathering outside, he could hear thunders and he could also hear 'Misato' and Luc whispering: "_ten bucks and two souls he storms out before the meeting is over" "deal"._

Of course no one else had heard that because after the Man's exclamation the room had erupted into more threats, shouts and business lingo that Shinji was not interested in.

Abruptly, the old Man got up and stormed out of the room. As the rest of "H&H INC." joined the Boss, 'Misato' said to Shinji "Consider yourself lucky. Not everyone gets to see this" Having said this she got from her purse the money to pay Luc for the bet. 

===============================================================================


End file.
